The Bond, Part 2
by Wordmage Kazzidae
Summary: Something happens between Blake and Weiss that ends up bringing them closer than they might want to be. Problem is, only Blake knows that it happened. (This is a single chapter follow-on to a comic made by someone else; please see the Author's Notes for details.)


A/N: As you RWBY fans are no doubt aware, Monty Oum passed away very recently. I was working on this fic just as a way of passing the time, but when he died I suddenly felt the need to finish this and put it up. Think of it as my way of paying tribute to a man who inspired me.  
This fic was also inspired by another creative person although I'm afraid I don't know their name, only that they post as kushiyo-takeru on Tumblr: if you don't read their comic called The Bond you might have a hard time understanding what's going on here. I'm sorry that this story requires additional research, but I hope you enjoy their comic as much as you do my story.  
It may be short, it may be silly, it may be worth very little... but for what it is worth, this one's for you, Monty.

* * *

Blake retreated to the rooftop of the Academy, her head in a whirl. She needed to be alone, to get her thoughts in order. She couldn't let anyone see her like this. If anyone tried to talk to her while she was in this state there was no telling what could happen.  
Thankfully, there was no-one on the rooftop when she got there. Blake shut the door and collapsed against it, slowly sagging down to the ground as though all the air had been let out of her. At least the afternoon breeze up here was nice and cool, helping somewhat to counteract the burning sensation in her reddened cheeks.  
Blake raised a hand to her head. Even in her panic there was no way she'd have forgotten her ribbon, but even so checking it was there was a habit for Blake as automatic as blinking or breathing. She couldn't believe she'd let it fall off in that bush... but then, she did tend to lose herself in her books. It's always when you let your guard down that they get you.  
Still, no harm done, right? For all Weiss knew, she'd just petted a common-or-garden cat. There had been absolutely no evidence linking that incident to Blake and to her secret. Everything was fine...  
...except, it wasn't fine. Weiss's touch, soft and tender as it had been, had awoken certain memories and emotions in Blake that she'd thought long-buried. She didn't need them returning now, of all times. Why couldn't this have happened when she was still among her own kind? But that wasn't the point: when winning seemed impossible, Blake had absolutely no scruples about running. Surviving had become so important to her that actually living had taken a back-seat.  
She remembered...  
A warm fire. Soft blankets. A hand as kind and delicate as Weiss's stroking her head. And a voice... her mother's voice, softly singing a lullaby.  
This was a part of her memories that Blake didn't often go to. She didn't have much need for feelings of safety and comfort. However, on the odd occasion that she did, this is where she came to. This was the core of her heart. But it hurt to remember these things, because it always reminded her of why she didn't have them anymore.  
She remembered...  
Their friends had said that Blake had her mother's face, but her father's ears - that is to say, the ones up top. Her mother had said that Blake's ears were the prettiest part of her and had given her the ribbon to decorate them.  
Blake sighed. She was fine with the idea that stroking her ears calmed her. She was even fine with the notion of Weiss having done it, since after all she hadn't been aware of exactly whose ears she'd been stroking. What she wasn't fine with however were the feelings that had been stirred within her as a result. This feeling didn't feature in her childhood memories. She was beginning to suspect that it wasn't an emotion that children were meant to be familiar with.  
It had surprised her to learn that Weiss had such a tender side to her. Blake had taken Weiss for nothing more than a spoiled little princess, but it turned out that she had her problems as well. Perhaps if Blake could just talk to her, get her to open up-  
"And then what?" Blake snapped at thin air. "Become the best of friends with her? Share all my secrets with her? Get close enough to..."  
Blake faded into silence, not certain what it was that she'd been about to say. Get close enough to do what? To slap her? Blake could really go for that right now after all the internal turmoil Weiss had caused her, never mind the lack of malicious intent. But she knew in her heart of hearts that that wasn't even close. The feeling was in her head, an image that had no lines or colours, just raw emotion. Get close enough to do what? Or was the closeness all that mattered?  
Blake let out a cry of vexation, her eyes screwed tightly shut and her feet futilely kicking the floor in front of her like a kid throwing a tantrum. It ended with her balled fists emphatically pounding on her thighs, her shoulders drawn up and her eyes narrowed. This was stupid. This shouldn't be happening.  
But it was.  
"...Weiss doesn't know what happened," said Blake, much more calmly, "and she doesn't have to. Just act like nothing happened. Everything will be fine."  
She kept telling herself that.

* * *

"Blake? Blake! Wake up already! You're going to be late for class!"  
Blake felt a hand on her shoulder, shaking her from a sleep that had been far less than pleasant. Her head muzzy as though her brains had been replaced by cotton wool, Blake sat up.  
"Wow. You wore your day-clothes to bed? Letting standards drop a little, aren't we?"  
It took Blake a second or two to clear the fog of sleep from her mind... and then she realised that the one who'd woken her was none other than Weiss.  
Her hands instinctively flew to her ribbon... which was still in place. Blake gave an internal sigh of relief, but she was still very much in the figurative woods.  
Blake frowned curiously at this action. "I've noticed you always checking that ribbon of yours. Is it really that important? Even I let my hair down when I go to bed, you know."  
"C'mon, Weiss, lay off her would you?" Ruby interrupted, much to Blake's silent gratitude. "Blake's obviously not feeling too well after yesterday." She approached the bed and spoke directly to Blake. "When we came back from training you were already in bed - and not only that, but you were tossing and turning in your sleep like you had a fever. You didn't seem to have one, though; we felt your forehead and it didn't seem at all hot."  
"Who's 'we'?" asked Blake guardedly.  
"Me," Yang called out, waving at Blake from across the room with her trademark goofy smile.  
'Well, at least it wasn't Weiss...'  
"I'd very much appreciate it if you didn't go touching me without my permission. Especially while I'm sleeping."  
"Woah. You make it sound like I was doing something bad to you."  
"In a sense, you were," said Weiss curtly. "I can't say I'd enjoy you running your hands over my body without permission, on whatever pretext."  
"What's a pretext?" asked Ruby lightly.  
"Excuse," said Weiss, her tone lowering by a few degrees.  
"Oh! Thanks," said Ruby cheerfully, completely oblivious to Weiss's implied insult.  
"My point is," Weiss continued, trying to keep her patience from fraying, "that you two are busybodies. Ever heard of personal space?"  
"I have and I think it's a lame idea, especially between friends," said Yang, taking Weiss in a hearty one-armed hug that looked more like a headlock. "You trust us, right?"  
"I think I'd have an easier time trusting you if you weren't crushing my windpipe," Weiss croaked.  
"Oh! Sorry." Weiss was released and drew in great gasps of air. "But yeah. We work together as a team in the field, so it only makes sense that we should trust each other, right? All for one and all that jazz."  
"Exactly!" Rose chimed in. "Your problems are our problems Blake, so if you're sick..." Rose trailed off. "Where'd Blake go?"  
Blake opened the door. She was now dressed in her Academy uniform, her book-bag slung casually over a shoulder. "If you're done clowning around...?"  
"How did-?"  
"Hurry up. You're going to be late for class." Blake allowed herself a small smile as she swanned out through the door.

* * *

Blake had lulled herself into thinking that the trouble was over: she'd managed to get through a single conversation with Weiss and hadn't dropped her cover, so all that was required was to continue as normal, right?  
"Wow. It's rare for this many people to turn up to Professor Snodgrass's lecture," Yang commented as they entered the auditorium. "I hope there'll be enough space for all of us to sit down together..."  
"Oh hey look, it's Velvet!" Rose rushed over to the timid girl, who was sitting right in the corner at the back of the auditorium, an entire empty row of seats to herself. "Hey Velvet! Is it okay if we sit next to you?"  
"I guess..." she replied, trying not to look directly at Rose as though she were a miniature sun.  
"Where's the rest of CFVY?" asked Yang companionably.  
"...They took a different elective for this period," said Velvet hesitantly. "But only by accident!" she added in a rush, clearly anxious to avoid anyone thinking that she'd given a bad impression of her team-mates.  
"Then that settles it - we're definitely sitting with you!" said Ruby, plopping herself down in the seat beside Velvet by way of showing solidarity. A couple of other students in the room were shooting looks in their direction, something of which Blake was only too aware.  
Yang filed in, sitting next to Ruby, which left two seats for Weiss and Blake. Weiss appeared troubled and whispered to Blake in a low tone. "Would you mind taking the inside seat? I don't want to get any closer to a Faunus than I have to."  
Blake's blood ran hot and cold by turns. She desperately wanted to show Weiss the error of her ways, but with Weiss so close to her... that scent brought last night rushing back. Those feelings conflicted with the hot flash of anger she felt at Weiss's prejudice. Under normal circumstances she'd be more than happy to give Weiss a tongue-lashing, but she'd been thrown off balance by Weiss drawing so close... which was rather ironic considering the little talk Weiss had given the others about personal space.  
Blake opened and closed her mouth a few times, the words failing to come. The answer she eventually gave was so weak that it made her wince to hear herself saying it. "...You shouldn't say things like that."  
Weiss pulled back a little, giving Blake some blessed space. "What do you mean? Say things like what?"  
Blake took a step back, further separating herself from Weiss. Now that they weren't so close together Weiss's fragrance wasn't so obvious to her anymore. The fresh, Weiss-free air served to fuel her anger.  
"'I don't want to get any closer to a Faunus than I have to.' Isn't that what you said?" Blake said out loud.  
Ruby gasped. Yang stood, moving towards the two girls who were now squaring off. "That isn't a very kind thing to say, Weiss."  
"You: stay out of this," said Weiss, shooting Yang a dirty look. She then turned back to Blake, at whom she shot an even dirtier look. "And you... there was a reason I whispered that to you."  
"Because you're ashamed of being a bigot?" Blake spat the word like it was dirt in her mouth.  
Ruby rose to her feet as well, all too conscious of the looks they were getting from the rest of the room. "Guys, we shouldn't argue like this! Look, you're upsetting Velvet!"  
"Because it isn't worth making trouble over, which is exactly what you're doing right now," said Weiss to Blake, pointedly ignoring both Yang and Ruby. "And I'll thank you never to call me a bigot again: this isn't just mindless prejudice; I have my reasons."  
"They always try to justify it." Blake's voice was more of a growl as she said this.  
Yang's eyes darted to Blake, hearing the dangerous edge to her voice. "Blake, I'm one hundred percent on your side here, but you need to calm down. Weiss, apologise to Velvet."  
"Why should she?" Cardin called out from where he was sitting, his boots up on the desk in front of him. "That preppy know-it-all is right for once: Faunus are freaks!" The other members of CRDL jeered at Velvet, causing her to try and vanish on the spot. Needless to say, she remained as visible as ever. Rose turned to the girl, fretting over her like a mother hen.  
Blake turned to CRDL, about ready to take all of them on - but even as she turned, she felt a familiar hand on her shoulder.  
"Don't waste your time on them," said Weiss casually, keeping her head in exactly the way Blake was failing to. "They're not worth it."  
"Get your hand off of me!" said Blake, slapping the offending object away. Weiss seemed genuinely surprised by this reaction.  
"What's your problem? I was only trying to-"  
"Shut up! You're just as bad as them! You...!" As Blake turned back to face Weiss, she ran out of words to say. She wanted Weiss to get angry like she was, to say more stupid things about the Faunus - anything to give her an excuse to let loose on this precious little ice-queen... but all she got was a curious, calm stare. Blake tried as hard as she could to see a monster in those blue eyes, but all she saw was a reflection of herself; she looked far more monstrous than Weiss right now. When she eventually spoke, it was in a very quiet, faint voice. "...I'm not feeling too good. I'm going back to the dorms." She staggered past Weiss, feeling oddly light-headed.  
"I'm coming with you," said Yang.  
"I'm fine."  
"No you're not. I'm coming with you."  
Blake was too overwhelmed to argue anymore. She simply had to get away: away from this room, away from this argument, and most of all away from Weiss. She could feel Weiss's stare boring into the back of her head. Blake didn't dare turn back.  
"...Fine."

* * *

The walk back to the dorms was uncomfortably silent. Blake soon regained her feet so that she didn't have to have Yang supporting her and gave her a wide berth after that. It was Yang who broke the silence.  
"So... what's up, pussy-cat?"  
Blake stopped dead in her tracks. "How did you know?" she asked, eyes wide, her heart beating loudly in her ears.  
"Well, it was pretty obvious that you weren't actually feeling ill," said Yang casually, twirling a cigar between her fingers.  
"No, I meant how did you know...?" Blake's eyes narrowed, her surprise temporarily overwhelmed by curiosity. "...You don't smoke."  
"You're right. I don't. This is chocolate." Yang grinned and took a bite of the 'cigar'. "Want one?" she asked, offering it to Blake, bitten end toward her.  
"No thanks," said Blake with obvious distaste.  
"Yeah, you'd rather share it with Weiss."  
Blake had another nasty shock, but she was ready for it this time. She'd become very good at hiding emotional reactions over the years. It's something a survivor has to learn quickly, or else stop being a survivor permanently.  
Unfortunately, a lack of reaction can sometimes be just as traitorous as an obvious display, especially to one who's looking for it. Yang grinned, placing the cigar back between her lips in a triumphant gesture. "So I was right."  
"Right about what?"  
"Give up the act, sister. You might be able to pull the wool over Weiss's and Ruby's eyes, but you're dealing with someone who's actually seen a bit of the world here."  
Blake wanted nothing more than to simply bail on this conversation. Even if she'd failed at deceiving Yang socially, she had absolute confidence in her ability to slip away from any situation cleanly and quietly. But then what? Run away from the Academy? Never talk to her new... well, Blake didn't know whether she could call them friends just yet, but they had become something slightly more than acquaintances. Especially Weiss, even in spite of the way she'd run her mouth earlier. What reasons could she possibly have for talking like that?  
"She doesn't have to know," said Blake.  
"Deny everything and act as though it never happened?" asked Yang casually - so casually that Blake had the sudden mental image of punching her in that smug face of hers, but she could guess how well that would go. "Somehow, I'm not surprised. That plan of action seems very... you."  
"Well I'm glad you know so much about me," said Blake sharply, shooting a bladed glare at Yang. "And just how the hell did you learn my secret?"  
"It was pretty obvious from the way you reacted to her back there," said Yang, like Sherlock Holmes explaining his latest and greatest deduction to Watson. "I've never seen you go that hard at her before. I mean, sure, the two of you bicker often enough, but you went up like a volcano." Yang made a small exploding noise and gestured with her fingers to complete the effect, the cigar nestled between them so that it looked like she was conducting. "I'm surprised Ruby didn't pick up on it... although to be honest, she has always been a bit innocent."  
"Try naive."  
"I know you're feeling under attack at the moment Blake, but that's no reason to be unkind to my little sister."  
Something still didn't add up, though. "What, is that it?" asked Blake.  
Yang blinked. "Is what what?"  
"Is that the big secret you wanted to talk to me about? Was that it?"  
Yang paused and then raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "Is there something else I should know about...?"  
Blake wondered whether she was being subtly toyed with. Had the nickname earlier just been a coincidence?  
"Plenty of things you could know about, but nothing that you will," Blake fired back, glad to have the opportunity to claw back some control in this decidedly one-sided conversation.  
"Fine, keep your secrets," said Yang, her easy grin returning to her. "I don't particularly care, as long as it doesn't put us in danger." Blake remained neutral again: this time Yang didn't pick up on it. Little did she know... "I just wanted to make sure you don't have any feelings that'll be a problem when it comes time for us to work as a team. You know, for real."  
"It won't be a problem."  
"Are you sure?"  
Blake looked Yang dead in the eyes. "Do I look like the kind to go all gooey in the middle of a mission?"  
Yang shrugged, taking another bite of the cigar. "I ain't talking about missions, necessarily. What about training? What if we're practising manoeuvres and one of them requires you to take a close hold of Weiss?"  
"That won't happen."  
"Assuming it does." Yang stepped closer to Blake, very deliberately making incursions on her personal space. Blake wasn't the type to be easily cowed and held her ground, glaring defiance at Yang. "If the team requires it of you you've got to do it, end of. How will you handle that?"  
"Why the hell are you asking me these questions?" asked Blake, not caring if she sounded rude. "Isn't Ruby supposed to be the head of this team?"  
"Technically speaking yes, but like I said she's still a little too young and inexperienced to see certain things. And don't try to change the subject, young lady." Even when admonishing, Yang managed to sound jocular. "How would you handle having Weiss that close to you?"  
"If it's for the team, I'll do it." Blake looked Yang in the eye with naught but cold conviction.  
"...Well, I can't fault you for your poker face," said Yang lightly, blinking first. "Fine. You say you can handle it, then you can handle it. But this wasn't just about busting you for your secret feelings, ya know." Yang's smile took on a kindlier aspect. "We're your friends, remember? You can talk to us. I hope you don't mind me judging, but you seem like the type to bear things on your own shoulders, even when it would be easier to share the load." Yang's eyes flickered off to one side for a moment as a thought occurred to her. "A lot like Weiss, actually. I'm starting to see how you two might work out."  
"Are you done taunting me?" asked Blake dimly.  
"I'm not doing this for my own amusement, Blake. Well... not entirely." Grin. "I just wanted you to consider something that might not come easily to you: talking about your feelings." Yang smiled. This time, there was absolutely no hint of sarcasm or smugness in it: this smile was pure, happy and friendly. Blake couldn't help but see Ruby in that smile.  
A treacherous part of Blake's mind wondered what it would make her feel like were Weiss to smile at her like that.  
"Your kindness has been duly noted," said Blake in a less-than-genuine voice. "Can I count on your discretion?"  
"Sure. But I still think you should reconsider," said Yang in a concerned tone of voice. "I know Weiss puts up a cold front, but it seems to me like she might have some genuine reasons for not liking the Faunus. I'm not saying she was right to say those things, but neither is she as bad as those blockheads in CRDL. If you can get her to open up to you... who knows what might happen?"  
"You know that turn of phrase suggests that a bad outcome is just as possible as a good one, right?" asked Blake, levering up a sceptical eyebrow.  
"Oh ye of little faith. It wouldn't hurt either of you girls to believe in people once in a while." With that, Yang turned and strolled casually back the way they'd come.  
The words that Blake had refrained from saying were 'Belief is the thing that comes before disillusionment.' She continued not to say them.

* * *

Blake was reading when she heard the knock on the door. Reading had always had a calming effect on her; a remnant of her childhood, perhaps. She tended to find Ruby's books a little too simplistic for her taste, but right now she was fine with simple. If the world was as simple as it was in fairy-tales she could've just fought a dragon and saved the day. Somehow, talking to Weiss and setting everything straight seemed a much more daunting prospect than facing a dragon, which is why Blake knew what would come after those three little knocks of doom before it was even said.  
"Are you there, Blake? It's me."  
'Me' was, of course, Weiss. It could be no other. Blake briefly wondered whether pretending not to be there would get her to go away.  
"I'm coming in."  
Well, if she was going to dive out of the window, she'd missed her chance. Blake resigned herself to her fate and laid the book aside on the table, looking up at Weiss as she entered.  
"...Are you feeling better?" asked Weiss, gently shutting the door behind herself.  
"Yes," said Blake, doing her level best to keep any extremes of emotion out of her voice. She wasn't going to do any encores of her earlier display.  
...The silence was suffocating. Blake decided that perhaps acting neutral wasn't the best policy.  
"I just wanted to-" "I thought maybe I should-" They interrupted each other so perfectly one would have been forgiven for thinking they'd both been on cue.  
"I'm sorry," said Blake, the sheer awkwardness making her cringe. "You go first."  
"All right. Blake, I just wanted to ask you about what happened back there. Why did you fly off the handle like that?"  
Blake swallowed, considering her next words very carefully. She didn't yet know where this conversation was headed. She didn't even know where she wanted it to go. What if Yang was right? But then again, what if she was wrong?  
"...Do you really have a good reason for disliking the Faunus?" asked Blake tentatively. "If you do, I'll take back what I said earlier."  
The air changed. Blake sensed it. That is to say, Weiss changed, and the atmosphere with her. Weiss unconsciously projected an aura of superiority around her as a matter of course: she was better and she knew it, so it was only natural that everyone in the room should pay attention to her. But suddenly she seemed... smaller. More withdrawn. Blake was reminded of the look a child would wear after being scolded by their parents.  
"I... I don't talk about that," said Weiss quietly. "It isn't interesting, anyway. You don't want to hear me go on about my problems."  
Blake stared at Weiss with eyes wide. She'd never seen her like this before. Blake had simply assumed that Weiss didn't know how to be shy.  
Blake stood, causing Weiss to look at her like a startled rabbit. "We all have problems, Weiss. I've heard it said that a problem shared is a problem halved, although I'm not sure I fully believe it."  
"I know what you mean," said Weiss, smiling in a way that appeared to Blake to be strangely fragile, as though her face were a porcelain mask that would shatter at the lightest touch. "Experience has taught me to keep things to myself."  
Again, silence.  
"...But I suppose it could be wrong," Weiss added slowly.  
Blake was beginning to understand what was going on here: Weiss was trying to get Blake to convince her to share her secrets. She absolutely didn't want to go down without a struggle, but as long as Blake remained receptive she'd keep dropping these little hints.  
What she'd said the day before about wanting to open up... it was true. It was all true. Had her childhood really been that hard?  
Blake felt a sudden rush of sympathy for this girl - not a preppy know-it-all princess, not an ice queen - just a girl like her, with her own problems and fears. It was going to be hard to get Weiss to open up, but Blake had an idea.  
"Weiss," said Blake, her voice and her eyes clear.  
Weiss looked up at her. "Yes?"  
"I'm going to reveal my secret to you. Please promise me that, whatever the secret is, you won't hate me for it any more than you do now."  
Weiss blinked a few times, her face confused. "Why would I hate you? I mean, you can be annoying sometimes, but you're not as awful as some people."  
Blake smiled. That was closer to the Weiss she knew. That smile was so spontaneous and so genuine that it threw Weiss off.  
"I mean... I promise."  
"...All right then."  
Time slowed to a glacial drip. In a single movement that seemed to take aeons, Blake reached up to her ribbon. Once in every year that it took for her hand to reach the ribbon she reconsidered this action... and every time she decided to continue, convinced that this was right.  
The ribbon came off in a single fluid motion. In their place, as if by magic, stood a pair of black and white cat ears.  
Weiss simply stared. For maybe ten whole seconds, she just stared.  
Just to demonstrate that her Faunus ears were real, Blake twitched them.  
Weiss realised two things.  
"...You're one of them."  
Blake nodded.  
And then, with mounting shock:  
"...That cat yesterday..."  
Blake nodded again... and this time, she blushed.  
Weiss seemed lost, even as she stood perfectly still. Her face, her body, her voice had drained of all emotion. She seemed like a statue, locked in this moment for perpetuity.  
Blake summoned the courage to speak. "Do you hate me now?" she asked, her voice sounding very small and quiet even to her own sensitive ears.  
"...I don't know what I think about you," said Weiss, sounding like she meant it.  
A few seconds more passed in perfect silence. Weiss looked back up at Blake.  
"Blake," she said. She said it as though saying the name for the first time.  
"That's me," said Blake, smiling gently.  
"Do you remember everything I said? Everything I said to... the cat."  
"Every last word."  
Weiss covered her face with her hands in an attempt to hide the rampant redness spreading across her face like a field of red flowers blooming. "Oh, just kill me now..."  
"I'm afraid I'm not going to do that, Weiss," said Blake with a quiet smile, approaching her. "But, if it makes any difference, I promise not to tell anyone... if."  
Weiss peeked out from between her fingers. Completely off-guard, Blake was struck by how cute an embarrassed Weiss looked. "If what?" she asked.  
"If you promise not to tell anyone about... well." Blake waggled her cat ears.  
Weiss smiled back grudgingly. "I think I can manage that."  
Again, there was a moment of silence. However, rather than tension or awkwardness, this silence held only a serene comfort. The two girls simply looked at each other, searching each other's faces and liking what they saw.  
"So... Blake," said Weiss after the silence had reached its natural end, sliding back into her usual haughty tone like it was a tailored dress. "This doesn't mean that I like you, or that we're friends, or that I like the Faunus any more than I did before."  
'Defiant to the end,' thought Blake to herself.  
"I understand," said Blake simply, not letting her quiet smile go.  
"But... it does mean that we share a secret now, so... I might deign to tell you more about my life in future... should you prove worthy of it." Weiss did an admirable job of hiding her embarrassment by adopting the most arrogant. For once, it didn't annoy Blake at all.  
"What about my life? Am I chopped liver or what?" asked Blake, smiling in spite of the words she used.  
"That can come later," said Weiss, dismissing the matter with an airy wave of her hand. "But for now... I wish to know something."  
Once again, Blake had her personal space invaded... only this time, it didn't feel like an invasion. More like an accepted invitation. She closed her eyes and let it happen.  
She felt those elegant, graceful fingers softly, tenderly stroking her. At times they'd run through her hair, but mostly they focused on her defining features as a Faunus, being careful never to stroke the fur the wrong way. It was glorious. It was luxurious. It was thrilling. Every movement sent tiny electric shivers coursing through Blake, her mind turning into a blissful, fluffy pink cloud. She felt comfortable. She felt loved. She felt... like she wanted to do more with Weiss.  
"Tell me, my cute little kitten," said Weiss playfully, "will you meow for me?"  
Blake opened her eyes: she looked sleepy or drunk, or maybe something else entirely. Whatever it was, she looked happy. "Maybe once we get to know each other a little better," Blake answered, her voice sounding a little distant.  
Weiss smiled and stopped the petting. Blake immediately regretted not doing as Weiss had asked, but she still had some dignity left and stayed silent.  
"Well in that case we'll have to do this again some other time," said Weiss.  
It was obvious to Blake that Weiss had enjoyed this little 'exchange' as much as she had. So it was a mutual thing... good. That meant she could indulge without guilt. Although, it did seem as though Weiss enjoyed having this kind of power over Blake. Strangely, Blake found that she didn't mind this too much.  
...But when it comes to teasing, two can play that game.  
"Oh, I don't know, we're both pretty busy these days what with training and assignments and all that," said Blake, affecting a concerned manner.  
"If you keep acting clever I'm going to turn your brains to mush again. I know how to do it now," said Weiss with a grim grin, flexing her fingers like talons.  
Upon seeing this Blake made a long, drawn-out, deep, guttural noise, like quiet thunder rolling in her throat.  
Weiss paused. "Did you just... purr?"  
Blake jumped. "What? No! That was just - um..." Weiss just grinned at her, waiting to see how Blake would try to wriggle out of this one. Blake admitted defeat. "...Can you do it again, please?"  
Weiss wore an expression of pure triumph. "It would be my pleasure," she said.  
'No,' thought Blake as that wonderful sensation swept through her again. 'It's mine.'


End file.
